Floor maintenance machine



Feb. 24, 1970 M. w. SHI-:LER

FLOORQMAINTENANCE MACHINE Filed July 20, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

MILO W. SHELER BY Flc-1.1

ATTORNEY Feb. 24, ,1910 M. wjs'AELER 3,496,591

FLobR 'MAINTENANCE MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed .my 2o, 1967 IIl cloo

FIG. 4

INVENTOR.

MILO w. SHELER BY 'Fla AT'EORNEY Feb. 24, ,1970

M. w. sHEL-ER FLooRnAINTENANcE MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 20,1967 FIG.6

INVENTOR.

M ILO W. SHELER ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,496,591 FLOORMAINTENANCE MACHINE Milo W. Sheler, Elkhart, Ind., assignor to Kel-Tec,Inc., Elkhart, Ind, a corporation of Indiana Filed July 20, 1967, Ser.No. 654,870 Int. Cl. A471 11/16, 11/293 U.S. Cl. --320 11 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lloor cleaning machine having twocounter-rotating brushes in the forward end, a supply system for acleaning solution, and a solution recovery mechanism with a squeegeedevice at the rearward end thereof. The squeegee device is connected toa single pivot means at a point intermediate the brushes and thesqueegee device to provide both lateral and vertical angular movement.

Conventional floor cleaning machines for industrial use generallyutilize two counter-rotating, power driven brushes at the forward endwhich are supplied with a cleaning solution from a tank on the machine,and a squeegee device mounted at the rear for recovering the dirtysolution which is delivered to another tank on the machine. The squeegeedevice used on the conventional equipment is often ineffective inrecovering all the used cleaning solution from the floor, frequentlyleaving streaks or puddles of solution, particularly in depressions inthe oor and along the path of the machine where it was maneuvered intovarious turns and lateral positions. Floor irregularities, such asroughness and small protrusions, often lpermit the dirty solution topass beneath the blades on the squeegee and form streaks or spots on thefloor. Further, in the conventional machines, the squeegee is extendedbeyond the sides of the machine to give the squeegee sui'hcient breadthto recover the solution while the machine negotiates turns and othermaneuvers. However, the protruding ends of the squeegee frequently bumpor contact walls, posts, and other obstacles and cause damage thereto orthe squeegee is itself damaged by the impact. It is therefore one of theprincipal objects of the present invention to provide a solutionrecovery device which Will effectively adapt itself to slight ormoderate oor depressions and protrusions and roughness and thereby giveoptimum performance under such adverse operating conditions, and whichis so mounted on the machine that it will effectively follow the path ofthe oor surface cleaned by the brushes and will be readily deflectedwhen bumped or sideswiped as the -machine is maneuvered along walls andaround posts and other objects or obstacles.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a floor cleaningmachine having two counter-rotating brushes, an efhcient solutionrecovery device which causes the solution to flow to the center partthereof and through laterally spaced ports where it is picked up anddelivered to a tank on the machine, and which is provided with ascrubber or scraping device in the center thereof for removing any dirtleft on the oor by the normal lateral spacing of the two brushes fromone another.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a squeegee structurewhich applies a substantially uniform, yieldable pressure on the oorthroughout its length and which will swing freely within a relativelywide horizontal arc to follow the path cleaned by the brushes, as themachine is maneuvered on the floor and to swing vertically to adapt todepressions and rises in the floor.

A further object is to provide a relatively simple, trouble-freesolution recovery device for iioor cleaning machines, which can bereadily cleaned and serviced and 3,496,591 Patented Feb. 24, 1970 icewhich can effectively be used to recover either wet or dry floorcleaning compositions.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE l is a side elevational view of a floor cleaning machine showinga portion of the housing broken away for the purpose of betterillustrating the mechanism associated with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the cleaning machine shown in FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational View showing themechanism involving the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal fragmentary cross sectional View taken on line4-4 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the solution recovery mechanism involvingthe present invention;

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view of the solution recovery mechanism shownin FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a bottom view of the solution recovery mechanism shown inFIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a vertical cross sectional view through the mechanism shownin FIGURES 5, 6, and 7, the section being taken on line 8 8 of FIGURE 6;and

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a portion of thesolution recovery mechanism, the section being taken on line 9-9 ofFIGURE 3.

Referring more specifically to the drawings and to FIG- URES l and 2 inparticular, numeral 10 designates generally the present floor cleaningmachine, and 12 the sweeping or scrubbing mechanism having a pair ofrotating brushes 14 and 16 driven by an electric motor or other suitablepower means enclosed in compartment 18 of fbody 20, the two brushesconsisting of bristle portions 22, backing plate 2 4 and hub 26 throughwhich the brushes are driven by a motor in compartment 20. As the twobrushes are rotated, water flowing from a water supply system, includinga tank in the upper part of body 20, is supplied to the brushes throughconduits connected to hubs 26 in the respective brushes. The water onreaching the brushes is distributed therein by centrifugal force and isused in the scrubbing operation as the machine is maneuvered over thefloor. The two brushes are counter-rotating, and the water dischargedthrough the brushes tends to collect in a stream `trailing the spacebetween the two brushes as the machine is moved generally forwardly overthe area being cleaned. For the purpose of the present description, thetwo brushes and water supply system may be considered conventional, andhence the details thereof will not be described herein.

The machine may be power-driven or pushed by the operator, and, in themachine shown in the drawing, the machine is supported by two mainwheels 34 and 36 mounted on an axle 38 extending transversely beneaththe body of the machine and connected thereto by several supports (notshown). Two casters 40 and 42 including wheels 44 and 46, respectively,support the rear end of the machine body and permit the machine to bemaneuvered effectively over the area to be cleaned and along and aroundobstacles in the area. The two wheels 44 and 46 are connected to thebody by bifurcated members 48 and pivot members 50 attached to theunderside of body 20.

The water recovery mechanism designated by numeral 60 consists generallyof a squeegee device 62 and a control device 64. T he squeegee device,which is most clearly shown in FIGURES 5 through 8, consists of twofront laterally spaced blades 66 and 68 and an intermediate blade 70interposed between and spaced from blades 66 and 68. The front bladesare supported by a housing 74 and are secured to downwardly extendinganges on the housing by a plurality of bolts or rivets 76, A rear blade78 spaced from front blades 66 and 68 is mounted on a downwardlyextending flange on housing 74 and is secured thereto by a plurality ofbolts or rivets 80, The outer ends of front blades 66 and 68 areprovided with rearwardly extending flanges 82 and '84, respectively,which contact the forward edge of rear blade 78, thus restricting theends of the space or chamber 86 between the front and rear squeegeeblades, but providing an opening 79 at each end for air and any solutionreaching the ends of blades 66 and 68. The blades are preferably made ofrubber or plastic material and are sufiiciently flexible that, as theymove along the surface of the floor, they will conform readily to theirregularities and contour to form a yieldable seal therewith. Thus,chamber 86 is substantially enclosed when the machine is in operation,with the exception of ports 88 and 90 at the inner ends of blades 66 and68. The two ports thus formed constitute inlet openings for the dirtysolution to enter space l86. The squeegee blades are pressed downwardlytoward the surface of the floor with sufficient force to create ascraping action, which will not only effectively remove the water, butwill also remove particles of dirt and other foreign matter tending toadhere to the floor, as well as any dry material which may be engaged bythe squeegee device. Space or chamber 86 is connected to a waterrecovery tank in body 20 by a fiexibie tube 94 secured to nipple 96which in turn is connected to the space by an opening 98. The dirtysolution collected in space 86 is drawn from said space through tube 94to the solution recovery tank by a vacuum pump or other suitable pumpmechanism disposed in the housing. A suitable soltuion tank and liftsystem is disclosed and claimed in co-pending application Ser. No.650,312. filed on June 30, 1967, and hence will not be described indetail herein.

The squeegee device 62 is generally arcuate shaped and is connetced by asingle shaft 100 to a double swivel joint 102 pivotedly secured to axle38, The rear end of shaft 100 is rigidly connected to the squeegeedevice by pin 104 extending downwardly through fixture 105 and through ahole in the end of shaft 100. The joint 102 consists of a verticalbearing housing 106 rigidly secured to a bearing housing 108 mounted onshaft 38 and held in axial position thereon by sleeves 110 and 111 atopposite ends of housing 108. Housing 106 contains a vertical shaft 112which rotates freely in the housing and which supports a sleeve 113 atits lower end for rotatably supporting shaft 100, the shaft beingretained in the sleeve by pins 114 and 115. The gioint 102 permits shaft100 to rotate and to swing freely in both the horizontal and verticaldirections, thus permitting the squeegee device 62 to tilt and to movefreely laterally and vertically as it follows the path of the machine,and traverses depressions and rises and other irregularities in thefloor.

With the device 64 mounted in the foregoing manner, the squeegee device62 is capable of moving freely laterally in a generally arcuatedirection and is readily deflected when a projecting end thereofcontacts an object or obstacle or when the machine moves along the wallor side-swipes an object. Wlieels 116 and 118 which are rotatablymounted on shafts 120 and 122, which in turn are mounted on the upperside of the outer ends of housing 74, roll when they contact an objectsuch as a wall, thereby protecting the wall as the device moves alongthe floor closely thereto to remove the dirty solution. The wheels alsofaclitate effective deflection when the respective end of the squeegeedevice contacts an obstacle. It is seen that the center of the arc ofthe squeegee device is on the axis of shaft 112, thus causing the deviceto move longitudinally in line with its own curvature when it isdeflected tg the right or left as the machine is maneuvered over thearea being cleaned. This facilitates effestive Aretrloval of the dirtysolution, regardless of the -iil various positions into which themachine is maneuvered during the cleaning operation.

The pressure of the squeegee blades on the floor is controlled by amechanism indicated generally by numeral 130, consisting of a T-shapedstructure 132 having laterally extending arms 134 and 136 mounted onvertical post 138 and having rollers 140 and 142 in the ends of arms 134and 136, respectively. These rollers bear against a horizontallydisposed piate 144 mounted on the rear of body 20. Post 138 consists ofupper and lower telescopic sections 146 and 148, the upper section beingrigidly attached to arms 134 and 136, and the lower section beingmounted on shaft 100. A coil spring 150 disposed in post 138 andreacting against abutments in the sections thereof urges the rollers 140and 142 firmly against plate 144 and urges the squeegee device firmlyagainst the fioor. The rollers traveling on the underside of plate 144permit the squeegee device to swing freely laterally, and the telescopicsections and spring permit the squeegee device to adapt itselfvertically to depressions and rises in the oor. Stop abutments 151 and152 are provided at the ends of plate 144 to limit the lateral travel ofsqueegee device 60.

In the cleaning operation, the two counter-rotating brushes 14 and 16are placed in operation and the waterdetergent solution is delivered tothe brushes which are maneuvered by the operator over the area beingcleaned. As the brushes rotate and the machine is moved forwardly, thedirty solution accumulates in a stream trailing the space between thetwo brushes. As the squeegee device reaches the stream, the dirty wateris deflected laterally by blades 66, 68 and/ or 70 to ports 88 and 90and is emulsified and sucked inwardly into space 86 where it is removedthrough tube 94 to a collecting tank in body 20. The two lateral blades66 and 68, which are both arcuate and positioned with the outer endsforwardly of the inner ends, cause the dirty solution to ow inwardly toports 88 and 90. The intermediate squeegee 70 normally trails directlybehind the space between the two counter rotating brushes and therebyperforms an effective scraping action on the floor for removing anyforeign material left by the two brushes in the space therebetween. Thedirty solution and foreign material pass outwardly laterally along theintermediate blade to ports 88 and 90 and are drawn therethrough intospace 86. Any foreign material or dirty solution passing under theblades 66, 68, and 70 is caught in space 86 in front of blade 78, thelatter blade performing the function of recovering any materialremaining after the front blades have passed over the oor.

As the machine is maneuvered over the area being cleaned and is turnedeither to the right or the left, the squeegee device swings in theopposite direction relative to the body of the machine to followeffectively the path cleaned by the two brushes. Since the squeegeedevice is pivoted on the single pivoted arm 100, the device swings intoan arcuate path in the lateral direction and effectively adapts itselfto irregularities and to the contour of the fioor. Sufficient pressureis applied by pressure mechanism onto the squeegee device to cause theblades to press .firmly on the floor and to adjust to depressions,rises, roughness and other irregularities in the floor. In the eventeither of the ends of the squeegee device engages an obstacle, thedevice is readily reflected laterally with little or no resistance tothe obstacle, thereby preventing damage to the obstacle and/or to thecleaning machine.

While only one embodiment of the present cleaning machine has beendescribed in detail herein, various changes and modifications may bemade without departing from the scope of the invention.

claim:

1. In a floor cleaning machine having a body, scrubbing means near theforward end, a system for supplying a Cleaning Solution to the scrubbingmeansJ and a System including a suction means for receiving usedsolution: a used solution recovery mechanism comprising a squeegeedevice extending laterally across the rear part of the machine at thebottom thereof, a unitary connecting member attached at one end to saiddevice and at the other end to a single pivot means connected to themachine at a point between said scrubbing means and said squeegee devicefor both horizontal and vertical angular movement, a spring meanspositioned rearwardly of said single pivot means and reacting throughsaid unitary connecting member for urging said squeegee device firmlyonto the floor being cleaned, said spring means including a horizontaltrack means and a T-shaped structure resiliently connected to saidunitary connecting member and having means engaging said track means formovement thereon, and a conduitmeans connecting said squeegee devicewith the system for used solution.

2. A solution recovery mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which saidsqueegee device includes a plurality of forwardly positioned squeegeeblades and a rearwardly positioned squeegee blade, said blades forming achamber therebetween, and a means connecting said chamber to said usedsolution conduit.

3. The solution recovery mechanism as defined in claim Z in which saidforwardly positioned blades include two laterally spaced blades and anintermediate blade, said laterally spaced blades being spaced from theends of said intermediate blade forming ports for admission of usedsolution to said chamber.

4. A solution recovery mechanism as defined in claim 3 in which the twoends of the intermediate blade are positioned rearwardly from the centerof the blade.

5. A solution recovery mechanism as defined in claim 4 in which saidintermediate blade is arcuate in shape.

6. A solution recovery mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which saidsqueegee device is arcuate in shape with the ends thereof positionedforwardly relative to the center thereof.

7. A solution recovery mechanism as defined in claim 5 in which saidsqueegee device is arcuate in shape with the ends thereof positionedforwardly relative to the center thereof.

8. A solution recovery mechanism as defined in claim 6 in which thecenter of the arcuate configuration of the device is on said singlepivot means.

9. A solution recovery mechanism as defined in claim 7 in which thecenter of the arcuate configuration of the device is on said singlepivot means.

10. A solution recovery mechanism as dened in claim 1 in which saidsqueegee device extends beyond the sides of the body of the machine andis provided with a roller on each end for laterally deilecting thesqueegee device in the event it engages an obstacle.

11. A solution recovery mechanism as defined in claim 9 in which saidsqueegee device extends beyond the sides of the body of the machine andis provided with a roller on each end for laterally deflecting thesqueegee device in the event it engages an obstacle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,849,663 3/1932 Finnell 15-320 X3,019,462 2/1962 Nash et al. 15-401 X 3,065,490 11/1962 Arones 15-401 X3,290,716 12/1966 Cain 15-353 2,149,453 3/ 1939 Longshore et al. 15-320ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 15-401

